Braised Halibut with Leeks, Mushrooms and Little Neck Clams

I made this last nigh for dinner and it was excellent.  I made a few small changes.  I served it with the black rice I blogged about earlier and I reduced the broth to 2 cups instead of three. Plus I added a cup of cherry tomatoes cut in half.  I added them when I braised the leeks and mushrooms.  Since I served it over the rice, having it too soupy didn't seem appealing to me.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

What You'll Need

4 oz. (½ cup) unsalted butter

½ lb. oyster or hen of the woods mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)

3 large leeks, white and light-green parts only, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 cups lower-salt chicken broth

4 skinless Pacific halibut fillets (about 4 oz. each)

16 to 24 small clams, such as Manila or littlenecks, scrubbed

1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half (optional)

Melt the butter over medium heat in an 11- or 12-inch straight-sided sauté pan with a lid. Add the mushrooms and leeks (and tomatoes if using) and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the broth, raise the heat to medium high, and bring to a boil.
Season the halibut with salt and pepper. Nestle the fish and clams among the vegetables in the skillet. Bring the broth back to a boil, cover tightly, and reduce the heat to low. Cook gently until the fish is just cooked through and the clams have opened, about 7 minutes. If all of the clams are not open, remove the fish and the open clams and continue cooking until the remaining clams open, another 2 to 3 minutes. Discard any clams that haven’t opened by this time.
Serve the fish in warmed shallow soup bowls, topped with leeks and mushrooms, surrounded by clams and broth, and sprinkled with chopped parsley.

serving suggestions

To make it a complete meal, serve with a green side salad and Steamed Jasmine Rice. 

nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 480; Fat (g): 28; Fat Calories (kcal): 250; Saturated Fat (g): 15; Protein (g): 40; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 7; Carbohydrates (g): 17; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 2.5; Sodium (mg): 460; Cholesterol (mg): 125; Fiber (g): 3;